“The Coming of the Son of Man”Following Jesus - The Gospel of Matthew
November 17, 2019 :: Matthew 24:15-35
We are following Jesus through the Gospel of Matthew, and we’ve reached that Crucial Holy Passion Week where everything in the book comes to a head.
Jesus has come to Jerusalem, locked horns with and denounced the religious leaders, and has predicted the destruction of the city and the temple. Their house will be left desolate.
And in chapters 24 and 25, Jesus is teaching about that coming judgment of Israel and about His own return.
So, right now, we are learning together about the End Times.
And as I said last week, that can be both exciting and confusing.
It’s exciting because this is Jesus’ own teaching about Jesus’ own return.
And that so incredibly important!
But it’s also often confusing because it can be very complex and complicated, and Christians have often disagreed about the details.
Faithful Bible-believing Christians are all agreed that Jesus is coming back. That Jesus is really coming back, personally, the same Jesus Who left, in the same resurrected body. And that His return will change everything.
But faithful Bible-believing Christians have also not always agreed on all of the details of how and especially when that will happen.
There are actually many many different views out there and different positions.
And I’ve been trying to study a bunch of them.
And I respect those who hold all of these different positions.
I have the greatest respect for those who taught me to love and read and believe and trust my Bible and yet have a different position on these things than I have come to personally myself.
There is lots of room here for disagreement and for helping each other to see what each other sees and to sharpen one another.
So let me ask you: Have I lost you already?
I may have already confused you last week in my teaching.
And/or you may already disagree with me on my interpretation, and that’s okay.
If I haven’t lost you yet, I’ll probably lose you today!
There are a lot of details, and it can get confusing really fast. And every view, every position, has its strengths and its weaknesses. It’s hard to keep these things straight.
I confess that I may not have all of this right.
I’m doing my very best, but I come in a spirit of deep humility.
I have confidence in Jesus’ words, but that doesn’t mean that I understand them all.
When we come to passages like this one, we need to put on our thinking caps and have patience with one another.
Last week, I said that there would be two principles that guide our study of Matthew 24 and 25.
One is that we will always focus on application. Jesus is always focused on our hearts, is He not?
When Jesus teaches on eschatology, He means for it to change our hearts and to direct our lives.
This is not just information about what will happen in Jerusalem in the first century and what will happen when Jesus comes back.
This is the information we need to know about those things so that we live the way our King wants us to live while we wait for the consummation of His kingdom.
So last week, we learned that while we wait for the King’s return we are not to be fooled, not to be scared, and to not let our hearts grow cold.
How did you do?
How did you do at that this last week?
Did you let yourself be swayed by false teaching and start to swerve?
Did you get alarmed by world events and start to get alarmed?
Did you allow yourself to grow indifferent to spiritual things?
Or did you stay close to Jesus and grow in your love for Him?
Did you boldly share the gospel of the kingdom while you wait for the King?
Here’s how we will know if we have really received this teaching in Matthew 24 and 25–if we live differently because we have studied it.
If we go on doing the same old same old, we are wasting our time studying eschatology. ...
The second key thing we are going to do as we study Matthew 24 and 25 is keep our eyes on the ball.
How many times have I said that as we’ve studied Matthew?!
Matthew is a theological biography of Jesus Christ.
And the key question that should always be at the back of our minds as we study Matthew is, “Who is Jesus?”
Because Matthew is keen to show us!
That’s the number one thing that He’s up to–“Who is Jesus?”
So here is my title for today’s message. It goes right along with that.
“The Coming of the Son of Man”
Those words appear in verse 27.
And similar words show up in verse 30.
“The Coming of the Son of Man.”
In Greek, it is “hay parousia tou huiou tou anthropou.”
“The coming of the Son of Man.”
Who is this Son of Man?
That’s Jesus. We’ve seen again and again in the Gospel of Matthew that “Son of Man” is Jesus’ favorite name for Himself.
Do a search on it this afternoon on your Bible app. Search “Son of Man” in your Bible and see how Jesus loves to use this self-designation.
Jesus used it when He asked Peter and the disciples that mega-question in chapter 16, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” “Who do you say I am?” And the right answer was, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
And He’s used it again and again to talk about Himself in relation to the End Times.
In chapter 13, Jesus said the Son of Man would send out His angels to “weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.”
In chapter 16, He said the “Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.”
In chapter 19, He said, that “at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, [His disciples] will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
And now in chapters 24 and 25, Jesus is teaching more about that coming of the Son of Man. And that’s Him!
What His coming will be like, and how to think about it and how to prepare for it.
And what good news it is.
The coming of the Son of Man is good news for you and me if we are followers of Jesus Christ.
This morning, I have four points of good news to apply to our lives because the Son of Man is coming.
But first, we have to complete the “Birth Pains.”
Do you remember the “Birth Pains” of verses 4 through 14?
Jesus was describing these difficult things that had to happen before His return.
He likened them to labor pains.
Very painful, right Moms?
Birth pains tell you that something big is coming.
Something joyful!
It’s inevitable and on the way.
But first it hurts.
But birth pains also don’t tell you exactly when something is going to happen.
They can come and go in frequency and intensity.
I think that verses 4 through 26 of chapter 24 describe the period of these birth pains.
And then verses 27 through 31 tell us about the Coming of the Son of Man.
So last week, we only made it up though verse 14. To get all the way up to the Coming of the Son of Man, we have to complete the Birth Pains.
Including one of the most painful birth pains there ever would be–the destruction of the temple in the year 70 AD.
Remember the context for this prophecy. In verse 1, Jesus was walking away from the temple, and His disciples try to get Him to stay and pay attention to the temple and its glorious gold-covered buildings.
But Jesus responded in verse 2, “I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be throne down.”
Total destruction is coming to the temple.
And hearing that rocks the disciples’ world, so they come privately to Jesus on the Mount of Olives, so that this is often called the Olivet Discourse, the Mount of Olives Teaching on the End Times.
And they ask (v.3), “Tell us when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
And in their minds, all 3 of those things were probably the same thing.
But we know now that they are actually separated in time.
And Jesus knew that, too.
So what was Jesus answer? What did Jesus tell them was when the temple would be destroyed? Or what were the signs of His coming and the end of the age?
I think that most of us decided last week that Jesus did not directly answer their questions in verses 4 through 14.
Jesus doesn’t always tell us what we want to know.
He does tell us what we need to know.
Jesus told them about the birth pains. About these difficult things that will happen from that moment until Jesus comes back.
About deceivers and false Christs and false prophets.
And wars and rumors of wars.
And famines and earthquakes.
And persecution and hatred.
And apostasy and increase in wickedness.
And cold cold hearts.
Birth pains.
Now, last week, I said that there are basically three different approaches to interpreting the fulfillment of the events prophesied in Matthew 24 and 25.
On the one side are those people who think that almost all of this stuff has already happened. It’s over. That approach is called the past approach, or the fancy name for it is the “preterist” approach. And it’s been popular at various times in church history.
On the other side are those people who think that almost everything in Matthew 24 and 25 is still future, hasn’t happened yet. The fancy name is “futurist” for that approach. And futurism has been very popular in the last 150 years especially here in America. I was taught it, and you’ve all heard it taught at some point.
And then everybody else is somewhere in the messy middle. It’s not as clean as either of these two ends (and I’m not sure it even has a name), but somewhere in here is where I land on a number of these things. To me, some things have already happened and some things have not.
I think that verses 4 through 14 are on both sides at the same time! The birth pains are things that have happened, are happening right now, and will happen until the return of Christ. That was last week.
Now, it might surprise you to learn that I think that verses 15 through 21 are actually things that have already happened. I’m “preterist” on the next paragraph.
The next paragraph (vv.15-21) is full of things that were future when Jesus predicted them during Crucial Week, but they were then fulfilled in the first century so now they are past. Look at verse 15.
“So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel–let the reader understand–then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now–and never to be equaled again.”
Now, I was taught by faithful, Bible-believing Christians that all of those things have not yet happened.
And that’s a valid and faithful interpretation of this passage. Many solid Bible teachers believe it, and it might be true. It was certainly all future when Jesus taught it.
But I think that Jesus is answering the first part of the disciples’ question here.
He’s telling them when the temple will be destroyed.
Jesus is prophesying the destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70 AD.
Look again at verse 15.
“So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel–let the reader understand–then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.”
What is this “abomination that causes desolation?” More woodenly translated, “The abomination of desolation.”
Where do those words come from?
They come from the Old Testament prophetic book of Daniel.
“The abomination of desolation” was predicted by the prophet Daniel. Daniel uses these exact words in chapter 9, verse 17, chapter 11, verse 31, and chapter 12, verse 11. Look them up this afternoon.
And the Jews who had read the book of Daniel (let the reader of Daniel understand, the Jews) had been looking for this abomination since Daniel had predicted it.
And they had already experienced foretastes of it between Daniel and Jesus.
There was a man named Antiochus IV Epiphanes who was the Seleucid ruler of Israel in 167 BC–that’s after Alexander the Greek and before Rome took over. (If you are one who studies Daniel, that’s the belly and thighs of bronze in his statue vision.)
And this man, Antiochus IV, was evil.
He went into the post-exilic temple and had an altar to Zeus constructed and then sacrificed pigs on it! And he made it illegal to practice Judaism. Circumcision, Sabbath, priesthood. All of those things were outlawed under Antiochus Epiphanes. May his name rot.
And there was an uprising against him by the Maccabees, and the eventual victory they had is celebrated yearly at the Festival of Lights also called Hanukkah. This happened in the time between your Old Testament and your new.
Antiochus Epiphanes was a manifestation of the abomination of desolation.
And yet he was just a foreshadowing.
So in the first century, after Jesus in the mid-sixties, the Jews tried to rebel against Rome.
And Rome sent armies led by General Titus to put down the rebellion.
And the armies surrounded Jerusalem and laid siege.
And then they marched into town. Titus and his generals marched into the temple.
And they walked into the Holy Place. These Roman generals marching around inside the temple.
And then they set fire to it.
And then they went after the gold.
The gold melted in the fire, and so it was everywhere. It was in the cracks between the rocks.
Remember how big those rocks were? Big as boxcars.
So what did they do? The Romans started uprooting and overturning all of those huge stones in the burned-out temple to retrieve the gold.
So that when they were done, there was nothing left of the temple!
Not just no gold left, but no temple left!
What did Jesus say in verse 3? “Not one stone left on another.”
What did He say last chapter? “Your house will be left desolate.”
The abomination of desolation.
In verse 16, Jesus told the disciples that when they saw these things unfolding before their eyes, they should run for the hills!
“...then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.”
Run and don’t stop!
“Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.”
And here’s something amazing:
They did that.
This is exactly what they did. They obeyed Jesus.
The Christian historian Eusbeius says when the Christians saw the Roman armies gathering around Jerusalem, they got out of town.
Many of them fled to a place named Pella across the Jordan River.
So when Jerusalem fell, most of the Christians had escaped.
They believed Jesus’ teaching and got out of Dodge.
But the destruction was terrible.
It was worse that 586 BC when Nebuchadnezzar sacked the city and destroyed Solomon’s temple and dragged Daniel into exile.
It was worse than 167 BC when Antiochus Epiphanes sacrificed a pig on the altar.
Jesus says that it was the single worst thing to ever happen in Jerusalem.
“For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now–and never to be equaled again.” ...
Now, those are big words, and I know that it’s hard to see them as describing something that’s already happened back in the first century.
I have great sympathy for those who think they must be pointing at some Great Tribulation in the future. I used to think so myself.
And it’s even possible that it might be both/and. That these words was initially fulfilled in the first century, and they will be even more fulfilled in the future. There are hints at that in Daniel 9, 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, and Revelation 13.
What we need to understand is just how devastating it was in Jerusalem in the first century.
Josephus says that 97,000 Jews were enslaved.
And he says that 1.1 million Jews were killed right there in the city.
Unspeakable horrors and atrocities were committed.
It was a slaughter. And it was total destruction.
Not just of the temple, but of the people.
And for density and concentrated desolation, there has never been anything like it.
It was the absolute worst of the Birth Pains.
Now, I told you that there would be good news. I’ll bet you’re ready for it by now. I am.
Here’s the good news in verse 22: “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.”
I’m not sure if the “those days” in verse 22 are just verses 15 through 21 or if they are verses 4 through 21. Both make sense in this context.
I think, they might be 4 through 21, all of the Birth Pains. If the Birth Pains had not been cut short, then everybody would die. I know that’s true for women giving birth, right?
Here’s the good news. The Coming of the Son of Man will be:
#1. GRACIOUS.
Not everyone will experience this devastating judgment.
Everyone deserves it, but not everyone will experience it.
Because God is gracious.
And because He loves His people. Jesus says, “For the sake of the elect.”
Who don’t deserve it, but are His chosen people.
That’s grace.
When we read verses 15 through 21, we are supposed to tremble.
Tremble at God’s justice being meted out on Israel who had rejected Him.
And tremble at God’s grace being lavished on His people who do not deserve it.
This is Thanksgiving Season. And one of the things we should be the most grateful for is that the Lord does not treat us as our sins deserve. Amen?
We deserve what Jerusalem got!
We deserve the treatment the temple received!
But for our sake (we’re the elect, those who believe in Jesus) those days were shortened.
It will not get as bad as it could get.
That’s grace. That’s amazing grace! How sweet the sound! Amen?
V.23
“At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect–if that were possible.”
Notice what that means.
Can the elect be fully deceived?
No! Because of God’s grace, those who are truly His own children, though often confused, will not be ultimately misled. He’s so gracious!
Verses 23-26 are a lot like verses 4 and 5 that we looked at last week.
Jesus doesn’t want His disciples to be snookered by false Christs and false teachers even if they can do miracles, and some of them apparently can.
V.25 “See, I have told you ahead of time. [He’s a prophet. Keep your eye on the ball! It’s all about Him. V.26] ‘So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.”
Number two. The Coming of the Son of Man will be:
#2. OBVIOUS.
Don’t believe it if some person says, “Hey, come over here. He’s over here.”
There are lots of people who want to convince you they have the secret of Jesus. Just come over to their side and pay your $19.99.
Jesus says that His return will not be hidden or missed.
It will be as public as it gets.
“For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”
The whole world will see it!
“Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.”
Obvious! Impossible to miss.
As obvious as carrion is to a vulture.
Or as obvious to us that there is a carcass because we see the vultures in the sky.
You can’t miss it. Don’t worry! Don’t fret! Don’t think you’ve missed it.
When Jesus comes back, it will be unmistakable.
And when Jesus comes back, it will be:
#3. GLORIOUS.
Verse 29.
“‘Immediately after the distress of those days ‘'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.' ‘At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”
Now, believe it or not, there are some faithful Bible-believing Christians who put that paragraph (vv.29-31) in the “past” category.
They don’t think it describes the Return of Jesus.
They still expect the Return of Jesus just like you and I do, but they don’t think that those verses are talking about that.
I think they are wrong.
I think that this is obviously future, and it is the return of Jesus. The coming of the Son of Man.
I believe that the “those days” in verse 29, refer to the whole period of the Birth Pains from verse 4 through verse 26, including but not limited to the Biggest Birth Pain of the Destruction of the Temple in 70AD.
So when Jesus says, “Immediately after the distress of those days...” He means the distress, the tribulation, of the whole period (vv.4-26).
After all of the Birth Pains have finally been completed, then the Son of Man will come.
And what a day that will be!
Heavenly signs. Earth-shattering signs. The “sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.”
I don’t know if that’s literal. I think it probably is.
This will be the most momentous event since the crucifixion and resurrection!
And the whole creation will be in upheaval over it.
V.30 “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky...”
I think that means that Jesus Himself will appear. Perhaps with great unfurling banner for all to read “King of Kings and Lord of Lords!”
“...and all the nations of the earth will mourn.”
Why? Why will they cry?
Because they have rejected Him.
Everyone who does not belong to Jesus will realize what they have missed.
“They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.”
That’s also a fulfillment of Daniel. Daniel chapter 7.
Listen to Daniel 7:13&14. Written more than 500 years before Jesus was born.
“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”
The Son of Man will be given this great authority from the Ancient of Days and then come down here, riding on the clouds, and begin His reign.
Not just with a sign in the heavens. But with a trumpet call. V.31
“And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”
I think that’s what we often call "the Rapture."
Our drawing up to be with Him forever.
Just like it says in 1 Thessalonians 4.
To meet Him in the air and be with Him forever.
The Coming of the Son of Man will be glorious!
I can’t hardly wait. How about you?
Are you ready?
Because it’s going to be wonderful for all of the elect. For all of God’s chosen people.
It’s going to be wonderful!
But it will be terrible for those who are outside.
It will be terrible for the unbelievers.
It will be awful for those who have not trusted in Jesus as their Savior and their Lord.
Verse 30 says all the nations of the earth will mourn. (Zech 12.)
O friend, I don’t want that to be you.
Repent now while you still can.
Or you will mourn when Jesus returns.
Almost there. One more point of good news, and then we’ll sing and go home.
The Coming of the Son of Man Will Be:
#4. SOON AND SURE.
(I couldn’t think of another word that rhymed with glorious.)
Verse 32.
“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”
Now, some people see Israel in the fig tree. And that’s possible.
Israel is likened to a fig tree elsewhere in the Bible. I think we saw that back in chapter 21 when Jesus cursed that fig tree.
So some Bible-believing Christians think that the restoration of the nation of Israel might be a sign that the fig tree is putting out leaves again. That’s possible.
But I think it’s just an illustration of how to think about all of these things. I think Jesus simply means that when you see a fig tree or any tree beginning to sprout leaves, you know that Summer is coming.
You don’t know when. You know it’s Spring right now. But you know that Summer is just around the corner.
Summer is closer if there are figs, but you don’t know exactly when Summer will arrive.
It’s the same thing when the leaves fall, right? You know that Winter is coming. We can feel it. But you don’t know when the heavy snows will come and stay.
It’s like the Birth Pains. You know that the baby is coming. It’s obvious that the baby is coming. But you still don’t know when.
Jesus says (v.33), “Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door.”
I think he means all of the things in verses 4 through 26, the things leading up to the Coming of the Son of Man.
When you see all of that, including the destruction of the temple, then you know it’s near. Or that could be translated, “you know that He is near, right at the door.”
Soon and very soon, we are going to see the King.
But soon on His time table. Not ours. We’re going to be hearing this again and again as we follow Jesus through the rest of Matthew 24 and 25.
Soon and very soon, but not on our time table. On His time table.
And so we must wait expectantly and patiently! We’re going to see that again and again. Expectantly and patiently at the same time.
In verse 34 he says, “I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.”
There I think He means the same thing by “all these things” as He did by “all these things” in the previous verse. All of verses 4 through 26. Everything before the Coming of the Son of Man in verses 27-31.
Because that’s exactly what happened. Everything in verses 4 through 26 happened between AD 30 and AD 70.
So all of the signs that the disciples asked for and that Jesus was willing to give at that time have occurred.
These prophecies of Jesus have come to pass.
And that means that all of the prophecies He has made that are still to come WILL COME TO PASS.
And nothing will stop them.
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”
Keep your eye on the ball.
Notice whose words have this ultimate authority.
“My words!”
Jesus’ words will never pass away.
The Coming of the Son of Man is Soon and It’s SURE.
It’s certain and guaranteed.
Nothing can or will stop Him from coming in all of His glory and power and take us to be with Him forever.
Soon and Sure.
Do you believe that?
This should change how we live in the here and now.
If you know that Jesus’ return more certain than the sun will come up tomorrow, how should that effect how you live tomorrow when the sun comes up?
You and I should be living unshakable lives.
I don’t know about you, but I’m easily shakable.
It doesn’t take much to get me worried and insecure and anxious.
And everybody in my life suffers for it.
Jesus is speaking this to me this morning.
“Matthew, did I predict the desolation of Jerusalem and the temple?”
Yes.
“Did it happen?”
Yes.
“Not one stone?”
Not one stone.
“What are you worried about, Matthew?
Are you worried that the Son of Man will not come on the clouds and defeat all of His enemies with power and glory and send His angels with loud trumpet call and gather you, rescue you from wherever you are even Pennsylvania?
What are you worried about, Matthew?”
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away!”
***
01. The Genealogy of Jesus
02. The Birth of Jesus Christ
03. The Search for Jesus Christ
04. The Baptism of Jesus
05. The Temptation of Jesus
06. Following Jesus
07. Jesus' Sermon on the Mount
08. The Good Life (Part One)
09. The Good Life (Part Two)
10. You Are The...
11. Jesus and the First 2/3 of the Bible
12. But I Tell You
13. But I Tell You (2)
14. But I Tell You (3)
15. In Secret
16. Choose Wisely
17. Seek First His Kingdom
18. Generous
19. These Words of Mine
20. When He Saw the Crowds
21. When He Came Down from the Mountainside
22. Follow Me
23. Our Greatest Problem
24. Who Does He Think He Is?
25. Special Agents
26. Sheep Among Wolves
27. What To Expect On Your Mission
28. Are You the One?
29. Come to Me
30. The King of Rest
31. So Thankful!
32. Overflow
33. This Wicked Generation
34. Get It?
35. What Is Really Going On Here?
36. Baptizing the Disciples
37. The Treasure of the Kingdom
38. Living the Last Beatitude
39. Five Loaves, Two Fish, and Jesus
40. It Is I.
41. Worthless Worship
42. Great Faith in a Great God
43. The Pharisees and Sadducees
44. The Question and the Promise
45. Take Up His Cross
46. Like the Sun
47. Seed-Sized Faith
48. These Little Ones
49. If Your Brother Sins Against You
50. The Lord of Marriage
51. Drop Everything
52. First and Last
53. The Suffering Serving Son of Man
54. Shouting for the Son of David
55. Expecting Fruit
56. Come to the Wedding Banquet
57. Whose Image?
58. Acing the Test
59. What Do You Think About the Christ?
60. How Not To be A Leader
61. Malignant Religion
62. Fakes and Snakes
